It appears that the TGT stock price is moving from a overbought status as demonstrated by the channel in the bottom chart. Whether this will continue is unknown, but it seems likely.

Now, let’s look at the TGT 5-year stock price chart.

Target TGT stock price may not reach much higher

It appears that around the $60 level, TGT has difficulty breaking through. Also, for the past several years, TGT appears overbought. At these price levels, I don’t think I would be looking to purchase TGT as it does not appear to have much room to rise, and may – in fact – fall more in price.

Disclaimer: The above is for informational purposes only. This should not be considered investment advice. Any investment decisions are your own and should be made after conducting your own independent research and / or in consultation with a professional investment advisor.

How much absolute crap has the public been fed about how JCPenney (JCP) was going to miraculously transform themselves into the AAPL of retailing? JCP was going to become our favorite place to shop, or some, B.S. But, it is looking more and more like all of the buy-side stock analysts that urged suckers, er investors, to purchase JCP stock and ride it all the way up to $40 or $42 per share were full of baloney. Seems to me that you can’t have junk, or crap, if you don’t have JCP.

To see how ludicrous predicting a plus $40 JCP stock price, take a look at the JCP 5-year stock price chart.

After all, with the huge economic boom brought about by quantitative easing Helicopter Ben Bernanke and the boys at the Federal Reserve, why wouldn’t JCP stock reach into the heavens?

Instead, Icarus-like, JCP stock price got a little too close to the sun and is now falling back to earth.

JCP: But the stock analyst said it would go to over $40 per share...

I hate being lied to and I find it annoying when people can’t see the obvious. What in the world would make anyone believe that JCP and AAPL should be spoken in the same breath, much less that JCP will somehow transform its snoozapalooza anchor mall locations into Apple Stores?

Who came up with the crank concept of creating “a store within a store”? I prefer to call the strategy concentric circles of hell, but that’s me.

If I were in charge of JCPenney I would have closed down the unprofitable and marginal stores and remodeled every one of the crap mall locations like I have in my town. Instead of the traditional “rat searches for a piece of cheese strategy” whereby JCPenney makes its poor customers wander around aimlessly hoping to encounter what they are looking for, I would make it easy to shop there. The store would be open with signs indicating each department – not “store within a store”.

Employees would have a distinctive uniform in order to separate them from customers. Employees would not be allowed to hide from customers while they attempted to look busy folding clothes. In fact, employees would be required – in a not-too-aggressive manner – to make contact within second with each customer who came into their department. There would be something akin to a shopping assistant who would be certain to ask you if you found what you were looking for today, and if you answered “no” would offer to order the item and have it either shipped to the store or to your home. Cash registers would be clearly labeled and colored distinctively so they stood out from anywhere in the store.

When customer checked out they would again be asked if they found the items they were looking for. If not, there would be a kiosk-type display where an employee would find the item and offer to order it or – if the item was in stock – would go pick it up and bring it back to you.

Old line retailers like JCPenney, big box retailers like Lowe’s lose incalculable sums of money because they treat customer more like a nuisance than like the lifeblood of their business.

JCPenney’s silly junk marketing of everyday low prices, and crap ideas of becoming Apple are beyond wishful thinking. There is almost no hope that JCPenney will ever, ever, ever come close to achieving those ridiculous ideas. JCPenney could, however, offer a pleasant shopping experience with excellent customer service and grow its incremental sales. That is a tried and true method that, combined with taking advantage of the Internet, could prevent JCPenney from eventually meeting with the fate that awaits Sears and K-Mart. However, I doubt the CEO and many Senior Vice-Presidents will take the time to look at what really might work, and will instead continue to pump AAPL pie-in-the-sky ideas while watching JCP stock slide.

Disclaimer: The above is for informational purposes only. This should not be considered investment advice. Any investment decisions are your own and should be made after conducting your own independent research and / or in consultation with a professional investment advisor.

The slide in Sears has been rather impressive. It seems like only a few short years ago they were being lauded for their “brilliant” strategy of promoting soft lines, like clothing. Then they expanded even more, including grocery items and more. I suppose the idea was to capture the entire family business with the stereotypical male going for the hardware items such as Craftsman tools, the the stereotypical female purchasing clothes, groceries, appliances, etc.

In reaching for an ever-larger percentage of the family shopping basket, it appears Sears has lost more and more of it.

This has been going on since at least before Christmas. Our local Sears sits in a huge new building and includes an automotive center. Almost any day you can go there a see very few people inside, and even fewer buying very much. The soft good are OK, but nothing to get excited about. Tools have been heavily discounted for the past several months. The electronics section is a real yawner, poorly organized, over-priced, with few items to get excited about. It is not surprising at all then, with this as background, what the 1-year SHLD stock price chart looks like.

Did going "soft" kill Sears?

After a relatively brief period of overbought insanity, SHLD bounced off the declining white price resistance line and is now heading back to earth.

It appears that SHLD may over-correct into oversold territory, knocking the stock price down further.

In light of the steep discounts on its premium Craftsman line, it appears Sears is in trouble. If Sears does ultimately fail, or becomes a pale shadow of its former self, it will likely be because Sears tried to be too many things to too many people. Going “soft” may kill Sears.

Disclaimer: The above is for informational purposes only. This should not be considered investment advice. Any investment decisions are your own and should be made after conducting your own independent research and / or in consultation with a professional investment advisor.

As you can see from 21-day detrended price oscillator chart, TGD has been below the bottom of the channel, indicating an oversold condition.

The last time this occurred, TGD went from $2.06 to over $3.00 before hitting the sell trigger at $2.63.

Expect overhead price resistance at a little over the $3.00 mark.

Disclaimer: The above is for informational purposes only. This should not be considered investment advice. Any investment decisions are your own and should be made after conducting your own independent research and / or in consultation with a professional investment advisor.

So much chart real estate, so little time over $40.00. Yet, so many stock analysts think JCPenney JCP is a $40.00 plus stock. If you clicked on the link above you’ll find the consensus JCP stock price estimate is $43.00. Yes, $43.00. Take a look at the chart above. how much plus $40.00 JCP stock price days do you see? Not many. Yes, that last price is $35.76. Kind of makes the low-ball $29.00 JCP analyst look a little brainier (or more honest) than the rest.

Steven P Dennis does yeoman’s work analyzing the river of B.S. emanating from the JCPenney corporate communications department here, here, and here.

Yes, nothing makes an old, stodgy and boring retailer like JCPenney more nimble like a whole other layer of VP’s to muck everything up.

But, back to the chart’s, here is a look at the JCP 6-month stock price chart.

JCP: Whee! We're a $40.00 stock and then we're not.

While the price of JCP has slid recently, looking at the 21-day detrended price oscillator at the bottom of the chart, it is currently very oversold, so we should expect it to bounce back somewhat.

It is important to note, however, that JCP has strong overhead price resistance around the $40.00 mark – just where so many stock analyst are convinced it will break through. Why? I’m not sure.

In addition, the JCP stock price fell through the bottom of the purple colored Andrew’s Pitchfork and crossed the white sell trigger line. The sell trigger line and then, the bottom of the Andrew’s Pitchfork, become price resistance.

So, JCP has a long, long way before it even gets close to $40.00.

Now, let’s look at the JCP 5-year chart.

JCP: I see, I see JCP struggle to break forty.

On the 5-year JCP stock price chart, if you look at the white line on the 21-day detrended moving price average chart, you’ll notice JCP has rarely peaked up over the $40.00 price line. Aren’t those JCP stock analysts sunny optimists?!? “This year is going to be the year!” they shout as they lick their giant lollipops and gallop off on their broomstick horses.

In contrast to the 6-month chart, the 5-year chart indicates that long-term the JCP stock price is still overbought. Ouch! So, while we may get a head-fake uptick in price, expect the medium-to-long-term price trend to be down rather than up.

J. C. Penney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plus, with fantasy concepts such as a “store within a store” which I liken to concentric rings of Hell, JCPenney’s “plan” to revitalize their business with “everyday low prices” is as unbelievable as the stock analysts’ $43.00 JCPenney stock price target.

As the saying goes, “Gravity is a bitch”. After defying gravity over $80.00, Sears bounced over long-term price resistance represented by the white line. It is now being pulled down into the purple colored Andrew’s Pitchfork below.

The bottom part of the chart is the 21-day detrended price oscillator which basically indicates that Sears was overbought, but has now re-entered the channel, where we might expect it will journey down – eventually – to oversold status should it exit out the bottom of the channel.

Until, or unless, it manages to convincingly penetrate price resistance, expect Sears to continue its steady price descent long-term. While there may be shorter-term opportunities to trade the stock it doesn’t appear to be a long-term buy and hold opportunity.Disclaimer: The above is for informational purposes only. This should not be considered investment advice. Any investment decisions are your own and should be made after conducting your own independent research and / or in consultation with a professional investment advisor.